We awoke to another light-flooded morning sky in the little town of Kanab. Our drive for the day was fairly short—just 1.5 hours to Page, AZ to hike through Lower Antelope Canyon. Before leaving town, we stopped at Kanab Creek Bakery (a “can’t miss” according to my mother who was there last year) for some … Continue reading Road Trip Southwest—Lower Antelope Canyon
Ahhhhhh…back on the road. It’s just like coming home. This trip was somewhat of an afterthought once we had secured dates for our bigger excursions in the spring and fall. I wasn’t sure I could go a year before coming back to the Southwest. July is far from an “ideal” time to visit Arizona, Utah, … Continue reading Southwest Summer Road Trip—Small Town Fireworks in Utah
My commitment to blogging has waned in recent months. I’d like to pretend that my pervasive laziness is due to an exceptionally taxing day job or having to chase after children, but those would be lies. My contribution to society has been more or less limited to financially supporting the wine industry and Manhattan bodegas. … Continue reading Sweet Summer Squash Fritters
It was nice to wake up in a real hotel room and not one that was one gust of wind from extinction. The air outside was brisk but it was also bright and inviting. I inhaled a full plate of hotel breakfast buffet food and several cups of coffee to prep for the day. Buzzing … Continue reading Roaming Southwest—Taos High Road & Santa Fe Sky
Amidst howling wind and the intermittent shutoff of our motel’s ancient heater, I managed to get a bit of sleep. I moved the winter coat pressed against the motel door to block the draft and it was caked in fresh snow. So basically, it snowed inside our room. My heart ached for the check-out counter. … Continue reading Roaming Southwest—Turquoise Trail to Santa Fe
Rain drizzled onto our SUV as we drove towards the Airport Mesa Vortex, hoping to feel “energized”. The sky was ready to unleash onto our backs as we climbed to the top, less than 5 minutes from the parking lot. The walk was brief and ended on a small plateau surrounded by views. A vortex … Continue reading Roaming Southwest – Two Guns Ghost Town & Roadside Meteors
I craved that bit of land full of desert plains, dusty roads, and mountain views. Despite my endless love of the Southwest, I don’t make it out there very often. My mom and brother set off for a month to tackle the region, a trend that has become more common each year. The need to … Continue reading Roaming Southwest – Arizona Ghosts and Vortexes
Before heading back to the states, we made a 3-day stopover in Sydney, Australia. After nearly 2 weeks bopping between New Zealand hostels we chose to end our travels at a real hotel—one of those place with private bathrooms and something to decorate the walls other than coat hooks and “house rules” stickers. It was … Continue reading Traveling New Zealand: Stopover in Sydney
Lake Matheson was the destination for our morning stroll before driving on to Queenstown. Katie was anxious to get there as early as possible, citing the need to avoid those tourist-mobbed bus tours that kept following us throughout our travels. A loop trail leads to the lake, which rewards you with a glass-like reflective scene … Continue reading Traveling New Zealand: Lake Matheson and Queenstown
Christchurch is one of two locations where you can catch the TranzAlpine train for the entire journey, with Greymouth on the other end of the line. Much like the Northern Explorer, the train makes trips between these two stops on opposing days. We booked this part of the trip long before any motels or car … Continue reading Traveling New Zealand: TranzAlpine Train Journey
